Malaria kills more than 260,000 children under the age of five each year in sub-Saharan Africa and is the leading cause of childhood illness and death in the region, according to data from the World Health Organization (WHO). Now, thanks to the recently approved malaria vaccine, things could change, for the better.
GlaxoSmithKline’s RTS, S / AS01 or Malarix vaccine works against Plasmodium falciparum , the deadliest of the malaria parasites worldwide and the most prevalent in Africa. Malarix reduces severe and fatal cases of malaria by 30% and must be given in four doses starting at five months of age. The puncture does not exempt continuing to take measures to avoid the mosquito bite (rather, it is the females that bite) such as the use of mosquito nets.
“I started my career as a malaria researcher and longed for the day when we would have an effective vaccine against this ancient and terrible disease. Today is that day: a historic day . The long-awaited vaccine is a breakthrough for science, children’s health and disease control, “WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press conference on Wednesday. “Its use, in addition to existing prevention tools, can save tens of thousands of lives of the youngest each year .”
This development will be especially important for Africa, as Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Director-General for the African continent, has stated: ” For decades, malaria has plagued sub-Saharan Africa, causing enormous suffering to people. we hoped for an effective malaria vaccine and, for the first time, the widespread use of a vaccine is being recommended. Today’s recommendation instills a ray of hope in the continent hardest hit by the disease, and we hope to protect many more children from malaria , that they will be able to grow with health until the adult age ”.
The WHO recommendation is based on data from two-year vaccination pilots in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi. Funding for the pilot program comes from a collaboration between three agencies: Gavi, the Alliance for Vaccines; the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; and Unitaid.
WHO considers the vaccine to be cost-effective in areas where the risk of malaria transmission is moderate to high.
